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Student art will be on display on Sunday, June 11, as the annual Area Youth Art Exhibition kicks off. The program, organized by the Longwood Center for the Visual Arts (LCVA), has a theme of “Start with Art, Learn for Life” this year. One of the largest celebrations of youth art in Virginia. All in the community are invited to join the artists and their families for a special kid-friendly opening reception on Sunday, June 11 from 2-4 p.m.

This year’s exhibition features art created by PreK to 12th grade students from 32 public, private, and home schools in 11 counties (Amelia, Appomattox, Buckingham, Charlotte, Chesterfield, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Mecklenburg, Nottoway, Powhatan, and Prince Edward). “Highlighting Virginia artists, no matter the age, is central to the LCVA’s mission,” said Alex Grabiec, the LCVA’s Curator of Exhibitions. We are lucky to get to show over 1,800 works of art from the many talented student artists in our region. I’m always impressed with the talent from the artists and dedication from their teachers.”

The centerpiece of this year’s exhibition is an installation called Playful Patterns that will be on display in the LCVA’s Main Street Gallery. This installation was created by over 840 students at Prince Edward County Elementary School with the help of their art teachers, Ms. Joy Utzinger and Ms. Jean Martin.

This exhibition is made possible through the generous support of its longtime sponsor Southside Electric Cooperative. 

“At Southside Electric Cooperative, we believe the future of our communities depends on the success of our youth,” said SEC President and CEO Jason Loehr. “SEC takes tremendous pride in supporting the 2023 Annual Area Youth Art Exhibition, as we view it as an opportunity to support and promote young artists from counties across our service area. The exhibition provides youth with a platform to showcase their work while contributing to the community and fostering creativity. Southside Electric Cooperative continues to power its communities and members through empowering the creativity of the many talented youth artists featured in this year’s exhibition.”

The exhibition is on view June 10 to August 6 during regular gallery hours Tuesday -Saturday 11 a.m. – 5 p.m.; Sunday 1-5 p.m. The opening reception will be held Sunday, June 11 from 2-4 p.m.